LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - European stock markets rose on
Tuesday, to claw back ground lost in previous sessions, as new
signs of possible takeover activity pushed up major healthcare
and pharmaceutical stocks.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.2
percent to 1,387 points, after falling in the last two sessions
from 6-1/2 year highs.

The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index
gained 0.3 percent to 3,271.70 points and Germany's DAX
rose by the same margin to 9,915.27 points, having recently
slipped from its June 10 record high of 10,033.74 points.

Healthcare stocks such as Novo Nordisk and its UK
rival Shire added the most points to the FTSEurofirst
300. Shire rose 3.3 percent after Reuters reported that the
company had hired investment bank Citi as an adviser,
expecting to receive takeover approaches following a wave of
deals in the healthcare sector.